EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

Despite a strong focus on innovation , just 27 % of CIOs describe innovation as part of their company culture .

The study , which questions 1,000 CIOs from around the world , finds that despite a strong focus on innovation , just 27 % of CIOs describe innovation as part of their company culture . digitally focused working practices that match their expectations for user experience .

Nearly 80 % of survey respondents believe their organization is already falling behind competitors because of the pace of changing processes . Particularly , CIOs state they are struggling to keep up in increasing efficiencies ( 38 %), streamlining workflows ( 37 %) and enhancing services ( 36 %).

Expanding an innovative culture across a disseminated workforce is harder than scaling to employees working under one roof . Robust , digital communication solutions enable a hybrid workforce to connect remotely to develop an innovative culture . An updated approach to innovation and company-wide collaboration will enable businesses to improve productivity and gain a competitive edge .

The research also reveals that 21 % of respondents admit that innovation is confined to specific areas and departments . A further 34 % of CIO respondents also say that innovation consists of large-scale projects driven by dedicated teams . The results suggest a lack of innovation embedded in company culture and organizational willingness to evolve and adopt modern technologies .

The hesitancy to expand innovation across the business and encourage new ideas is impacting businesses ’ ability to keep up with the wider market and competitors . Businesses must emphasize a culture of innovation or risk not supporting changing customer demands and losing valuable employees as the XYZ generation workforce demands

“ Businesses don ’ t have to approach innovation with an ‘ all-in ’ strategy ,” said Toby Alcock , CTO of Logicalis . “ It can start with optimizing operational processes such as empowering employees to build their own workflows or automating a process that was previously manual . The key to success is building an innovative culture where employees can surface and test new ideas quickly and providing the time , tools and processes for them to do so .

“ By doing this , employees will produce groundbreaking ideas and solutions and in turn , will feel satisfied within their roles and employee turnover will decrease . Without taking these measures , businesses risk losing top talent to competitors that are more advanced .”

32 INTELLIGENTCIO LATAM www . intelligentcio . com